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Full-Text Articles in Biology
Liger, Tigons And Bears (Oh My!): The Genomic Consequences Of Inter-Species Hybridization, Beth Shapiro
Liger, Tigons And Bears (Oh My!): The Genomic Consequences Of Inter-Species Hybridization, Beth Shapiro
IMSA Great Minds Program ®
What makes a species? Driven largely by our natural inclination to categorize, we tend to think of all living things in discrete units – species – related to each other in a clearly defined taxonomic hierarchy into which every one fits neatly. New species emerge as evolutionary changes accumulate within one, leading to reproductive barriers that eventually split that one species into two. Hybrids, however, challenge this notion. As more and more genomes are sequenced, scientists are beginning to discover how common hybridization is in the wild, and that speciation may not be the directional – and irreversible – process …
Adventures In Nontranslational Research, Martin Chalfie
Adventures In Nontranslational Research, Martin Chalfie
IMSA Great Minds Program ®
Over the last ten years administrators, governmental officials, and clinical researchers have increasingly called for a greater emphasis on "translational research", i.e., research that translates findings in the laboratory into new treatments for medical conditions, over basic research in the biological sciences. Although the application of biological research to human disease (as well as toward improvements in agriculture and development of biotechnology) is important, I feel that an increased emphasis is not needed and is actually detrimental. Ultimately, this emphasis is self-defeating because one needs the fruits of basic research to fuel these applications. I will give examples from my …